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Herman by Jim Unger for January 30, 2012
January 29, 2012
January 31, 2012
Transcript:
Settle an argument. How do you pronounce his name?
Just to be especially pedantic,… The ancient Romans wrote IIII for 4, VIIII for 9, LXXXX for 90, and so forth. The method of subtracting a smaller number from a following next-larger number is a medieval invention.
But what I’ve never understood is why most antique clock faces with Roman numerals use IX for 9 but IIII for 4.